In Conversation

Bass-baritone Andrew O’Connor has built a remarkably varied career spanning opera, chamber music, choral repertoire and contemporary Australian work. In this conversation, Andrew discusses Transformations, his new album with Van Diemen’s Band, which journeys through early German Baroque music while pairing works by composers including Schütz and Buxtehude with newly commissioned responses from Brooke Shelley and Alice Chance. He reflects on the particular richness of this repertoire for the bass voice, the pleasure of having new music written specifically for him, and why working with living composers has become such an important part of his musical life.
Andrew also looks back on growing up in Perth, beginning as a trumpeter before discovering his voice almost by accident, and the opportunities that allowed him to begin working professionally at a remarkably young age. He talks about learning his craft on the job, his years with The Song Company, the unpredictable but rewarding life of a freelance musician, and his belief that different kinds of music-making continually feed into one another. Along the way, he discusses his passion for education and the life-changing potential of music.
Transformations is out now on the Van Diemen’s Band label, and via streaming platforms.

Stephen Layton has spent his life exploring what happens when people come together to make music. In Sydney to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in Mozart’s Requiem and other works, he reflects on the balance between instinct and preparation, having examined the famous piece note by note in preparing his own performing edition.
The conversation traces Stephen’s story back to childhood, where he played alongside his father in a Pentecostal church where music might begin spontaneously and gather momentum around the room. From there came an extraordinary journey through Winchester Cathedral, Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, where scholarships opened doors that had once seemed unimaginable. Stephen speaks about founding Polyphony, his ambitious overnight performance of John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple, and his seventeen years transforming the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. He also explains why Australia became unexpectedly important to Trinity’s international success, and talks of a life shaped by curiosity, opportunity and an enduring fascination with the collective energy of music-making.
Stephen Layton conducts the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs for Mozart’s Requiem and other works at the Sydney Opera House, September 9-12.

Percussionist Claire Edwardes has spent her career expanding the possibilities of her instrument and championing the music of our time. In this conversation, Claire reflects on her unlikely path from piano to percussion, the technical and physical demands of instruments such as marimba and vibraphone, and the sense of freedom she discovered in playing music without centuries of performance tradition behind it.
Claire also traces the evolution of Ensemble Offspring, from a group of Conservatorium students playing “wacky new music” to one of Australia’s leading contemporary music ensembles. She discusses the art of commissioning new works, her desire to push the art form forward, and why introducing audiences to unfamiliar sounds is as much about curiosity and connection as it is about the music itself. She also reflects on Ensemble Offspring’s decade-long commitment to working with First Nations composers and how those collaborations have reshaped her thinking about creativity and the process of making music.
We also hear about the enduring appeal of Steve Reich ahead of Ensemble Offspring’s upcoming concert, as well as Claire’s newest musical venture, Quartet X, an ensemble bringing together marimba, harp, guitar and violin for some unabashed musical guilty pleasures. Along the way, Claire reflects on turning 50, the pleasures and frustrations of a life spent surrounded by percussion instruments, and why she feels she is playing better, and is happier, than ever.
Ensemble Offspring’s Reich: Rejoice: Repeat! is on at ACO on the Pier for two concerts on Saturday 12 September, and at The Street in Canberra on Sunday 13 September.

Olivier Award-winning British actor Nathaniel Parker has built a distinguished career across theatre, film and television, from the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Merchant of Venice opposite Dustin Hoffman to Wolf Hall and the long-running BBC series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. In this conversation, Nathaniel reflects on the experiences that have shaped him as an actor, the lessons he has continued to learn throughout his career, and the mixture of instinct, craft and confidence that allows a performance to come alive. He is in Australia for a significant new challenge – playing Professor Henry Higgins in Opera Australia’s 70th anniversary production of My Fair Lady, his first ever musical.
 He recalls discovering his love of performance as a child, training at LAMDA and joining the RSC at the beginning of his professional life. He shares vivid memories of working with Dustin Hoffman, reflects on the transition from stage to television, and speaks with striking candour about the stage fright that kept him largely away from theatre for two decades. He also explains how returning to the stage in Wolf Hall, and the trust placed in him by director Jeremy Herrin, transformed his approach to acting and helped lead to his Olivier Award-winning performance as Henry VIII.
Nat discusses finding his own interpretation of Henry Higgins for a modern audience, the advice he has received from Julie Andrews, his continuing passion for Shakespeare, Tom Stoppard and T.S. Eliot, and the roles he still hopes to play. With disarming humour and openness, he reflects on family, music, poetry and the enduring excitement of good writing.
Nathaniel Parker stars as Professor Henry Higgins in Opera Australia’s My Fair Lady at the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House from 10 September, before the production heads to Melbourne in November.

Few people have had a greater influence on modern theatre than Sir Howard Panter. As co-founder of Trafalgar Entertainment, he oversees a global network of theatres and productions, including Sydney's Theatre Royal, while producing acclaimed shows such as Fiddler on the Roof, Jersey Boys, The Lehman Trilogy and many more. In this conversation, Sir Howard reflects on why timeless works continue to resonate with audiences, the importance of quality storytelling, and why theatre remains one of the most powerful ways of bringing people together.
Sir Howard also shares his remarkable journey from an art student who discovered he was better at "bossing people around backstage" than painting, to building two of the world's largest theatre companies from the ground up. He discusses the risks of owning theatres and producing shows, the challenge of programming successful seasons, and his passion for restoring historic venues to create spaces modern audiences enjoy visiting.
The conversation also explores Trafalgar's work filming stage productions for cinema and television audiences, and reveals Howard's high regard for Australian performers, whom he believes are among the finest musical theatre actors in the world.
🎭 Trafalgar’s production of Fiddler on the Roof runs at Sydney’s Theatre Royal until October 3 before heading to the other capitals. Their new production of Noël Coward’s Private Lives, starring Lisa McCune and Hugh Bonneville in his Australian theatre debut, runs at the Theatre Royal from February 6, 2027.